London Mayor Sadiq Khan laid flowers at a memorial in London this morning, marking the 14th anniversary of those who were killed during the 7/7 attacks.
The service at Hyde Park comes as the worst-injured survivor of the atrocity claimed that the public had forgotten about the attack which struck Londoners on July 7 2005.
The attack saw four suicide bombers with rucksacks full of explosives kill 52 people and injuring hundreds more across the capital.
One of the survivors, Dan Biddle, who lost both his legs, his spleen and an eye when a bomb went off on a tube at Edgware Road, has said many members of the public have never heard of the attacks.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan lays a wreath at the 7/7 Memorial, in Hyde Park, London, to mark the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on London on July 7th 2005 that killed 52 people
The memorial comes as survivor Dan Biddle (pictured above) says that many people have forgotten about the attack
Wreaths of sunflowers and lilies were laid at the memorial earlier today which marks 14 years since the tragedy
Ahead of the memorial service today, Mr Biddle, 40 said there seemed to be ‘a desire not to remember it’.
Speaking to The Sun he said: ‘I have people come up to me in the street and ask me what happened to me.
‘When I tell them I was a victim of 7/7, they ask me ‘What’s 7/7?’. These are people that are 20 or 30 years old.
‘It happens quite often, probably every couple of months. When it first happened I looked at them a bit weird. Now I say to them when they don’t know what it is that it’s the terror attacks on the bus and trains in London.’
He added that people need to continuously be educated about the attack and said there is always the chance it could happen again.
Terrorist attack: Four British-born Al Qaeda suicide bombers blew up three London Underground trains and a double decker bus, killing 52 people, in July 2005
‘What happened is a warning and if it is forgotten so is that warning.
‘People say if it’s not ten years or 20 years it’s not a milestone year, but for the people who died and were injured every day is a milestone.
‘Everyone needs to keep being educated about it otherwise those warning signs will be forgotten. If people don’t know their neighbour buying two barrels of hydrogen peroxide when they are not hairdressers isn’t a red flag, there’s a risk it could happen again.’
Amongst those gathered at the memorial today were chief constable of British Transport Police Paul Crowther, Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick and City of London Police commissioner Ian Dyson.
This morning Khan tweeted: ‘Today we honour the 52 innocent people killed and the 700 injured on 7 July 2005. They will remain with us in our hearts forever. #LondonUnited.’
Other public service providers also marked the occasion and the London Ambulance Service said: ‘Today marks 14 years since the 7/7 attacks in London. We remember those who died and all who were affected. Our thoughts are also with the loved ones of those who died and were injured.’
The memorial in Hyde Park had first been unveiled on the fourth year anniversary of the attack in 2009, and was attended by senior political figures and the families of the 52 killed.
The stainless steel memorial is comprised of 52 pillars in homage to each of the victims.
They sit together in clusters which reflect the four locations and incidents.
This is while at Edgware Road station, a smaller memorial had also been created in the ticket hall. Each year local businesses as well as family and friends of the victims gather to pay their respects.
Treatment of the victims following the attack had previously been criticised and two years ago Mr Biddle was told by government officials that he needed to prove that he was disabled in order to receive benefits.
He suffered a number of severe injuries, including losing his legs and one eye, but has only been claiming employment benefits since 2014, when his PTSD prevented him from working long hours.
Chief Constable of British Transport Police Paul Crowther, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and City of London Police Commissioner Ian Dyson, lay wreaths
A woman lays flowers at the 7/7 Memorial, in Hyde Park, London, to mark the anniversary
Wheelchair-bound Mr Biddle, from Abergavenny, South Wales, was asked to answer questions about the level of his disability.
At the time he had been receiving £416 a month in Employment and Support Allowance and said: ‘It is a betrayal, to be asked questions like ‘How long can you stand for?’ How insensitive is that?
‘If this isn’t re-affirming how bad my life is going to be because of my injuries, I don’t know what is.’
Mr Biddle, a former projects manager for a construction firm, lost both legs, his left eye, his spleen, the hearing in his left ear, and was not expected to survive after losing 87 pints of blood in subsequent operations, and suffering two heart attacks.
Mr Biddle, who was awarded £118,000 from the criminal injuries compensation board, had to go back to work full time two months after his discharge from hospital on June 31, 2006, because he couldn’t afford not to.